Automatic sprinkler system



. Juiy 22 1924.` LSZA A. J. LOEPSINGER AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEM Filed May 19, 1917A 3 Sheets-Sheet l July 2z 1924. 1,552,041 E A. J. LOEPSINGER AUTOMATI C SPRINKLER SYSTEM Filed-May 19- 1917 s sheets-sheen 2 #M -m Y i 57 @MMQM,

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July 22 i, 1924. 1,502,041

' A.J.LoEPsnvGER AUTOMATIC S PRINKLER SYSTEM Filed May 19. 1917" s sheets-sheen s /f/VE/TDR:

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l Patented July 22, 1924.4

UNITED STATESl 'iso-2,041 PATENT oFFlcE- ALBERT Ji; LOEPSINGER, F EDGEWO'OD, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 GENERAL FIRE EXTINGIUISHER COMPANY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE` ISLAND, A CORPORATION -OIE' NEW YORK.

AU'romATIcsrnmxmm SYSTEM.

Application -led' May 19,1917. Serial No. 169,658.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. LOEPSINGER` a citizen of the United States, residing at Edgewood, in the county of Providenceand State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Sprinkler Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic sprinkler systems in which the sprinkler pipes are normally filled with air'maintained at a pressure which is less than the water su ply pressure, but is sufficient to prevent t e opening of the supply-controlling valve lol5 cated at the entrance to the sprinkler 'pipe system. According to the common practice the air in such a system is kept at a pressure-eonsiderably in excess of that at which the valve opens, in order to guard against premature openin of the valve on account of leakage of air omthe system or, in the case of valves of the type usually employed, by reason of water ammer or other abnormal pressureexerted on the valve from the water supply side, and consequently when one or more sprinkler heads open the valve remains closed until the excess air pressure which keeps'it'closed is lost by the escape of a part of the compressed air from =0 the system. This fact constitutesA a wellrecognized objection to dry-pipe sprinkler systems as heretofore installed, for the rea'- son that until the valve o ens the rate at which the air in the sprin ler pipe system i5 escapes therefrom is determined by itsown pressure, as distinguished from the pressure.y of the water supply, and the resulting' delay in the discharge of VWater from the opened head or heads may become serious in casethe f 0 air pressure normally maintained inthe sprinkler pipe system needs to be but a few pounds above atmospheric pressure, since in such case the escape of the air is corre" spondingly slow .prior'to the opening of the 5 valve.

The present invention is intended to provide a dry-pipe sprinkler -system which will 'be free from the objection above referred to, and is characterized by the employment of 0 means whereby a slight reduction of the air pressure in the system is caused to bring into immediate action a force which neutralizes the excess or effective pressure whereby the supply-controlling valve is normally revented from opening, provided such rev uction of. pressure is aquick reduction such as y results from the opening of one or more `sprinkler heads, as distinguished from a slow reduction such asresults from mere leakage of air. The new result obtained is that although leakage of air from the system` h as no greaterv eifect on the supply-controlling valvethan in the ordinary dry-pipe system, the opening of the valve immedi ately follows the opening of one or more sprinkler heads instead of being delayed until the air pressure which normally prevents the valve from opening has been reduced to a point at which it is insufficient for that purpose, and consequently the interval between the opening of a sprinkler head and the opening of the valve is not dependent upon the pressure or volume of the air in the system but is practically the same for all systems 'in which the invention is employed.

vVarious arrangements may be employed l for making effective the neutralizing force above referred to, and the invention may be readily applied to systems having supplycontrolling valves of any of the usual types. In dry-pipe valves of the differential type it is the practice to provide between the air' valve and the water valve an intermediate chamber in which atmospheric pressure is normally maintained by means of an open drip connection, and when my invention is applied to a sprinkler system containing a valve of this character the opening of the valve is preferably accomplished by. admitting fluid under pressure to the` intermediate`chamber. When this is done the air valve-is subjected to pressure on. both sides, and as soon as the resultant pressure tending to hold 'the valve closed is sufficiently. reduced the entire valve is opened by the supply ressure acting on the water valve, there y letting water into the system. The fluid under pressure whichI is admitted to the intermediate chamber may be taken from any suitable source of supply. For example, it may consist of air taken from the sprin ler pipe system, inl which case it will hav, the system pressure, or it may con-l sist of water taken from the water supply below the valve, in which case it will have the service pressure; Constructions operating in both of the ways just referred to are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, showing a portion of a sprinkler pipe system provided with means for admitting air from the system to the intermediate chamber in the valve;

Figure 2 is a 'vertical section on a larger scale, showing certain pressure-controlled parts hereinafter described;

Figure 3 is a sectionl on the line m--w in Figure 2; 1

Figure 4 is a section showing the details of a flow-restricting device, and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1, illustrating a system provided with means for admitting water under pressure to the intermediate chamber.

In Figures 1 and 5 of the drawings 2 indicates the lower portion of a riser, which may be assumed to form a part of a system of sprinkler pipes provided with the usual heads, and 3 indicates a dry-pipe valve interposed 'between the lower end of the riser 2 and the water supply pipe 4. The particular dry-pipe valve illustrated is constructed and adapted to operate in the manner shown and described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,196,875, granted September 5, 1916, and comprises an air valve 5 carried by an arm 6 which is pivotally mounted within the valve casing, a water valve 7 carried by the l air valve 5, and valve seats 8 and 9 on which the valves 5 and 7 are respectively seated under normal conditions and which are separated by an intermediate chamber 10. To this chamber is connected, as is customary in dry-pipe valves, a normally-open drip attachment 11 which takes care of any leakage into the chamber 10 and is automatically closed by the pressure of the water entering the chamber when the valve opens.

The parts above referred to are to be regarded as representative of any dry-pipe sprinkler system in which the water supply is normally kept out of the sprinkler pipes.

by the action of air or other gas contained in the sprinkler pipe system and having a pressure less than that of the ater supply. To thesev parts or their equivalents is added, in the illustrated embodiments of the invention, a closed tank 12 which is connected tothe sprinkler pipe system by a pipe'13, whereby the tank is normally kept filled with air at the same pressure as in the sprinkler pipe system. The rate of flow of air through this l pipe, however, is limited by a small orifice 14C through which the air has to pass and which is of such size that while it'is adequate to maintain equal pressures in the sprinkler pipe system and the tank 12 in case leakage of air from the system occurs it is incapable of keeping the pressures equal reoaofii in case the pressure in the system is reduced by the o ening of one or more sprinkler heads. (ibnsequently, while under static conditions the air pressures in the sprinkler pipe system and in the tank 12 are always the same the opening of one or more sprinkler` heads has the eHect of immediately unbalancing these pressures, leaving the pressure in the tank greater than that in the sprinkler pipe system', and it is the differential pressure'thus created which is utilized to effect the immediate opening of the drypipe valve.

lin the construction illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 the establishment of the differential pressure just referred to causes air under pressure to be admitted to the chamber 10 through a pipe 15 connecting the chamber to a supplementary receptacle 16 which in .carrying a weight 20 which is normally held by gravity against the wall of the receptacle 16 or other Suitable stop, in which position the center of gravity of the weighted end of the lever is located nearly over its pivot and a finger 21 constituting the lower end of the lever is located beneath the free end of the valve 18. 22 indicates a flexible diaphragm, preferably made from a sheet of soft rubber, which is interposed between the interior of the receptacle 16 and a passage 23 connected to the tank 12 by a pipe 24, and 25 indicates a horizontal stem connected at one end to the diaphragm 22 and and in part by a perforated plate 26 through which the diaphragm is subjected to air pressure transmitted through the pipe 24, and when in this position the free end of the 'stem25 is located at a short distance from the lever 19. 27 indicates a perforated plate carried by the receptacle 16 in front of the diaphragm 22 and serving as a stop and support for the diaphragm when forced inward by'the air pressure transmitted through the pipe 24, and 28 indicates a central sleeve carried by the plate 27 and provided with guides 29 for the stem 25.

Assuming that the water supply has been shut ofi and the dry pipe valve closed the parts above described 'are put in condition for operation by opening the receptacle 16, which is composed of separable portions, as shown, locating the valve-opening lever 19 in its upright position and closing the valve 18, closing the receptacle 16, and then pump- "arranged in line with the upper end of the llU ing air into the sprinkler pipe system until the normal pressure is established therein. As the air pressure in the system increases it is increased at the same rate in the receptacle 16 through the pipe 17, and it also increases in the tank 12 but more slowly, since the air entering the tank has to pass through the restricted orifice 14. Consequently the pressure exerted on the dia phragm 22 Afrom within the receptacle 161s greater than that exertedpn the opposite side of the diaphragm, so that it is impossible for the latter to move while thenormal air pressure is being established, but after this has been done the pressure is soon equalized in the tank 12 by the flow of air through the orifice 14. If the water supply is then turned on below the dry pipe valve the system is put in its normal or .static condition, lthe dry pipe valve. being held closed 'by the air pressure, and so long as this condition exists the tank 12 and receptacle 16 remain filled with air at the sameV pressure as that in the sprinkler pipe. system, the valve 18 is held closed by gravity supplemented by the air pressure in the receptacle 16, the diaphragm 22 is subjected to equal pressures on both sides and remains in the position shown inl Figure 2, and atmospheric pressure is maintained in the chamber by means of the open -drip 11. In case leakage of air from the sprinkler pipe system occurs the air pressures in the tank 12 and receptacle 16 are diminished at the same rate; .so that thevdiaphragm 22 has no tendency to move and the valve l'18 remains closed, but if one or more sprinkler heads open, the air pressure in the sprinkler pipe system and consequently in the receptacle 16 is reduced more rapidly than in thel tank 12, on account of the effect of the orifice 14 on the iiow of air from said tank to the pipe 13, and hence the reduction of air pressure within the receptacle 16. causes the diaphragm 22 to be subjected to a differential pressure whereby it is caused tov tip the lever 19 and `thereby open the valve 18 in an obvious manner. Air iinderpressure then passes from the receptacle 16 to the chamber 10 and the pressure thus established in said chamber closes the drip 11 and also balances the pressure on the system side of the air valve 5, with the result that the dry pipe valve isinstantly. opened by the water supply pressure acting on the water valve.

The arrangement above described for opening the valve 18 has the advantage that although a slight differential pressure acting on the diaphragm 22 will suHce to move the weighted lever 19 past its dead-center osition, the kinetic energy developed by the alling weight 20 will provide ample force for opening thev valve 18 against the fluid pressure to which it is subjected, so that any tendencyv of the valve to stick will be effectively overcome.

The orifice 14 is shown as formed in the inner end of a plug screwed into a casing 31 which is interposed between the tank 12 and the pipe. 13 and is divided internally into two separate chambers 32 and 33. The inner portion of the plug 30, which enters the chamber 32, is made hollow and provided with lateral perforations 34 so located that when the plug is in place they communicate -with an annular groove connected by a passage 36 with the chamber 33, the capacity of the several passages to trans- .mit air being determined by the size of the orifice 14. With this arrangement, the plug 30 can be conveniently removed for the purpose of inspecting the condition of the orifice 14 and cleaning it in case it has become clogged by dirtl blown into it from the sprinkler pipe system when the apparatus is charged with compressed air. In

order to minimize the danger of clogging the orifice 14 the chamber 33 is preferably divided by a strainer 37 contained therein, through which the air has to passibefore it reaches the plug 30.

The construction illustrated in Figure 5 1S similarito that already described except that the receptacle 16is connected by av pipe 17 to the water supp-ly pipe 4 and hence isI normally kept filled with water at the supply pressure, which is admitted through the pipe 15 to the intermediate chamber 10 when the normally-closed gravity valve 18 is opened. In this case, since the water supply pressure is different from the normal pressure in the sprinkler pipe system, the means employed for opening said valve 18 are modified by providing in the receptacle 16 two pressureoperated devices 38 and 39 each of which consists substantially of a bellows having the form of a closed cylinder made of thin sheet metal and deeply corrugated circumferentially, so that it is adapted to lengthen or shorten whenever it is subjected internally and externally to a differential pressure.` These devices 38 and 39, which are arranged horizontally in line withn each other, are connected internally by pipes 40 and 41 to the riser 2 and the tank 12 respectively, and at their adjacentends they are connected to each other, without communicating, by a rigid bar 42 having a downwardly-extending portion, against which the weighted upper end of the valve-opening lever 19 rests when the parts are in their normalposition. While the air pressure in the sprinkler pipe system is being pumped up the pressure within the bellows 38 will slightly exceed that within the bellows 39 and hence the bar 42 will be moved somewhat to the right with reference to the normal position shown in Figure 5, but since such movement l is in the 'direction towards which the weighted upper end of the lever 19 tends to move under the action of gravit said lever will merely follow the bar an will ultimately be restored to the normal position illustrated when the plressure in the tank 12 becomes equal to t at in the sprinkler pipe system, and no change in the position of the bar 42 will occur when the water supply is turned on and enters the receptacle 16 because the water pressure will act equally on the exterior of both of the bellows 38 and 39. A slow reduction ofv pressure in the sprinkler pipe system will evidently have no eEect on the bar 42, because the pressures within the bellows 38 and 39 will diminish equally, but a quick reduction of pressure due to the openin of one or more sprinkler heads will cause t e pressure within the bellows 38 to fall more rapidly than the pressure within the bellows 39, on account of the effect of the restricted orifice above described, and consequently the bar 42 will move in such direction as to carry the lever 19 past its dead center position and cause it to o pen the valve 18', whereupon the water pressure established in the chamber 1() through the pipe 15 will close the drip 11 and overbalance the pressure on the system side of the air valve 5, resulting in the instant opening of the dry pipe valve.

Each of the illustrated embodiments of my invention has the advantage that the new parts employed constitute an attachment which can be readily added to an existing sprinkler system4 containing a dry pipe valve of the differential type without otherwise altering the system or valve in any respect. lt will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to such an attachment and that it may be utilized for effecting the opening of any sort of dry pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure maintained in the sprinkler pipe system, the means employed for this purpose being capable of modification in various ways.

rlhe modification of my invention illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings is not specifically claimed herein, as it forms the subject matter of a divisional .application filed on the 26th day of November, 1923, Serial No. 676,951.

1. ln an automatic sprinkler system, WAthe combination of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by uid pressure in the system,

and means rendered operative by a quick reduction but not by a slow reductionA of the system pressure, for subjecting the valve to an opening force acting in opposition to said pressure.

2. ln an automatic sprinkler system, the combination of a dry-pipe'valve normally held closed by fluid-pressure in the system, a movable member subjected to normallybalanced duid pressures acting in opposite directions thereon, means for causing the opening of one or more sprinkler heads to unbalance the pressures on said movable member, and means operated by said movable member for subjecting the valve to an opening force acting in opposition to the system pressure.

' 3. ln an .automatic sprinkler system, the combination' 'of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed bv fluid pressure in the system, a fluid-pressure receptacle and connections between it and the sprinkler pipe system whereby the system pressure is normally maintained in said receptacle, dow-restricting means included in said connections, a movable member subjected simultaneously to the. pressures in the sprinkler pipe system and the receptacle `and operable by a did'erence in said pressures, and means operated by said movable member for subjecting the valve to an opening force acting in opposition to the system pressure.

4. lln an automatic sprinkler system, the combination of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, and means rendered operative by a quick reduction but not by a slow reduction of the systempressure for increasing the pressure in said chamber While the water valve is closed and thereby causing it to open.

5. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber provided with a normallyopen drip valve, and means operative upon the opening of one or more sprinkler heads for admitting Huid under pressure to said chamber while the water valve is closed and thereby causing it t0 open.

6. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, connections between said chamber and a supply of fluid under pressure, a valve normally closing said connections, and means rendered operative by aquick reduction but not bya slow reduction of the system pressure for opening the last-mentioned valve. l

7. lln an automatic sprinkler system, the combination -of a dry-pipe valve normally heldclosed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, connections between said chamber and a supply of fluid under pressure, a valve normally closing said connections, a movable member subjectedto normally-balanced fluid pressures acting in opposite directions thereon, means operative upon the opening of one or more sprinkler heads for unbalancng the pressures on said movable member, and means operated by said movable member for opening the lastmentioned valve.

8. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination' of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, a fluid pressure receptacle connected to the sprinkler pipe system, flowrestricting means included in said connections, a movable member subjected simulta-neously to the pressures in the sprinkler pipe system and the receptacle and operable by a diierence in said pressures, connections between said intermediate chamber and the sprinklerpipe system, a valve normally closing the latter connections, and means operated by said movable member for opening the last-mentioned valve.

9. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination with a dry-pipe valve of means for causing it to open, comprising a receptacle containing fluid under pressure and provided with an outlet, a valve normally closing said outlet, a weighted arm normally maintained in elevated position and arranged to open the latter valve when it falls, and means rendered operative by the opening of one or more sprinkler heads for causing said weighted arm to fall.

10. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination with a dry-pipe valve of means for causing it to open, comprising apassage extendin from one side o the valve to its intermediate chamber, a valve normally closing said passage, a weight normally maintained in elevated position and arranged to open the latter valve when it falls, and means responsive to change of pressure resulting from the opening of `one or more sprinkler heads for causing said weight to fall.

11. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, connections between said intermediate chamber and a supply of lluid under pressure, a valve normally closing said connections, a weighted arm normally maintained in elevated position and arranged to open the last-mentioned valve when it falls, and means rendered operative by the opening of one or more-sprinkler heads for causing said weighted arm to fall.

12. In an automatic sprinkler system,.the combination-of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising anair valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, connections between" said intermediate chamber and a supply of fluid under pressure, a valve normally closingv said connections, a weighted arm normally maintained in yelevated position and arranged to open the last-mentioned valve when it falls, a movable member adapted to tip said arm and subjected to normallybalanced fluid pressures acting in opposite directions thereon, and means operative upon the opening of one or more sprinkler heads for unbalancing the pressures on said movable member.

13. In an automatic sprinkler system, the combination of a dry-pipe valve normally held closed by fluid pressure and comprising an air valve, a water valve and an intermediate chamber, a receptacle connected to the sprinkler pipe system, connections between said receptacle and intermediate chamber, a valve normally closing the latter connections, a movable member subjected on one side to the pressure in the receptacle Vand on the other side to the system' pressure through connections including a restricted opening, and a weighted arm normally maintained in elevated position and arranged to open the last-mentioned valve when it falls, said arm being located in position to be operated by said movable member when the pressure in said receptacle is reduced by the opening of one or more sprinkler heads.

14. An attachment rfor automaticsprinkler systems, comprising a fluid pressure receptacle, means for connecting it to a sprinkler pipe system and permitting a restricted flow of fluid under pressure from the sysvtem to the receptacle, a supplementary receptacle adapted to be connected to a supply of fluid under pressure, pipe connections leading from the latter receptacle, a

valve normally closing said pipe connections, a movable member located in the supplementary receptacle and operable by a. difference in pressures between the sprinkler pipe system and the first-mentionedA receptacle, and means operated by said-movable member for opening said valve.

15. An attachment for automatic sprinkler systems, comprising connections providing a passage'for fluid under pressure, a valve norma ly, closing said passage, a movable member and connection'sfor subjecting it to the action of normally-balanced fluid pressures, flow-restricting means included in one of said connections, and means operated by the. movable member for open'- ingsaid valve. Y

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 18th day of May, 1917.

ALBERT J. LOEPSINGER. 

